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Friday, November 30, 2007

Daily Draw: Mythic Tarot ~ 10 of Cups

A sense of permanence and fulfillment is expressed in this card as Psyche is raised to divine status so she can be with Eros always. This style of permanence is unlikely today, but it brings to mind friendships. I had two neighbors who were the greatest friends, we enjoyed doing a wide range of activities together, we enjoyed just sitting and visiting, we were at each others backs in times of trouble and shared celebrations of joy for seven years. Then I moved about 3 miles away and it was like I'd dropped off the face of earth. If I went to their house is was times as usual, but they never did come to my place. Very odd. Same with a few work relationships, if I left the company it was like I never existed... It is so hard for me to believe they were just friendships of convenience but I can't think what else to call it.

I'm reminded by this card and thankful for friendships that have endured in spite of distance, changes in circumstances, and distractions. And of long shared friendships that are all ink and email, ladies I've never met, but because we have shared so much by mail I know we'd enjoy each others company in person.

"So when some dear joy losesIts beauteous summer glow,Think how the roots of rosesAre kept alive in the snow." Alice Cary ~ 1820-1871

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Daily Draw: Mythic Tarot ~ Fool

Poor Dionysos-Iacchos, what a life he had and twice born to boot. But the Fool card is a bit like that, promising redemption and the choice of beginning again, or the option of choosing another path, many times if need be. Nothing is written in stone until we are dead, we can always try something new.

I know the above words are true because I've chosen new paths. At 40 I went back to school and began a whole new career, at 45-ish I started a new financial path, at 47-ish I started rebuilding myself. This year, inadvertently I set in motion a huge change once again. Try it, you'll like it! Change is growth ~

"Turbulence is life force. It is opportunity. Let's love turbulence and use it for change." ~ Ramsay Clark 1927-

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Daily Draw: Mythic Tarot ~ 7 of Pentacles

A stable and successful Daedalus is torn between what he has and the potential risk or reward of leaving it all for something new. There aren't any guarantees in life and most humans abhor change so the road less traveled is seldom the choice made.

I'm reminded by this card that I stand at a crossroads right now and to keep my eyes and ears open for hint of opportunity, this is a good time for change.

"How can you say luck and chance are the same thing? Chance is the first step you take, luck is what comes afterwards." ~ Amy Tan 1952-

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Daily Draw: Mythic Tarot ~ 4 of Cups

Outsider, character assassination, gossips, maybe just a lousy vacation at Club Med, there is a lot to read into or from this version of 4 of Cups.

I've been waiting for a friend to get back so I can tell her I found the perfect name for someone we both know. Hyacinth Bucket. It cracks me up everything I think about it, it is just too too perfect. But this card remind me to take a pause and rethink. Talking about someone behind their back is low behavior, I think I'll take a pass on it, funny or not.

"There is so much good in the worst of us,And so much bad in the best of us,That it hardly becomes any of usTo talk about the rest of us." ~ Edward Wallis Hoch 1849-1925

Monday, November 26, 2007

It is often read as being a kind of penance, being the result of a choice we've knowingly made. Prometheus was in this position for 30 years for stealing fire from Zeus and giving it to humans.

30 years...took my breath away when I read that. But then I got to thinking about some of the sacrifices I've made for the betterment of someone else. Yes, we need time to adjust to the loss of something or the new way of doing something, that is the Hanged Man position. But at what point does the position reverse and we deliberately become oh-so-pitiful martyrs? Think about it. We all know someone who is still harking back on something that happened 30 years ago, letting it tinge their life anew, never willing to finally let it go.

I'm reminded by this card that I have a small coal of martyrdom I occasionally stoke up. It is ridiculous behavior. I assumed the Hanged Man position by my own action, so LET IT GO. I'm tired of having the spark in the back of my mind, waiting for payback.

"The difference between a man who faces death for the sake of an idea and an imitator who goes in search of martyrdom is that whilst the former expresses his idea most fully in death it is the strange feeling of bitterness which comes from failure that the latter really enjoys; the former rejoices in his victory, the latter in his suffering." ~ Soren Kierkegaard 1813-1855

Sunday, November 25, 2007

What you see is Paris deciding a beauty contest between Hera, Aphrodite, and Athene. What you don't see is the tragic long term results of his quick decision based on looks.

I'm reminded by this card of my own youthful bar-hopping period. When you have nothing else to go by, you go by looks, based on your own personal checklist. Tall Dark Handsome usually wins. Which leaves a whole world of wonderful potential partners as wallflowers. What a shame it is the easiest place to look for a partner, because it is also the worst.

"Faced with the choice between changing one's mind and proving that there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the proof." ~ John Kenneth Galbraith 1908-2006

The deck is The Mythic Tarot by Juliet Sharman-Burke and Liz Greene, illustrated by Tricia Newell. Published by Simon & Schuster 1986.

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Daily Draw: Aquarian Tarot ~ King of RodsThis card can show leadership, dedication, single-mindedness... to the point of being dictatorial. Again I'm being shown to keep an open mind and avoid the trap of narrow focus, missing clear opportunities.

I'm reminded by this card that sometimes it is ok to be mercurial. When in the decision making mode we need to just get on with it, but when pondering and comparing it is natural to think one way in the morning and have changed my mind again three times by night.

"Night and morning are making promises to each other which neither will be able to keep." ~ Richard Shelton

Friday, November 23, 2007

Daily Draw: Aquarian Tarot ~ Ace of Swords

Considering the plethora of pents last week and the clutch of low swords this week, I can't help but seeing that long lasting changes are coming into my life. I really do need to take it slow, to be reasonably sure before I make commitments, to really explore all sides.

I respect this advice, but I remind the cards that my brain isn't much set up that way. Yes I can and do explore all options but I also know in an instant when the right thing presents itself, be it a jar of jam or a new client. Knowing my options is what allows what appears to be that snap decision. So I'll take my Swords, bide my time, and sit on my snaps...

"You will either step forward into growth or you will step back into safety." ~ Abraham Maslow 1908-1970

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Daily Draw: Aquarian Tarot ~ 3 of Swords

This heart, pierced by bad news, seems to be framed in movie marquee style. I wonder how much of our daily expectations are colored by movies and television. The attorneys are always smart fast winners, the doctors always know how to fix the most unusual diseases, the detectives always collar their victim. Real life is so not like that. Attorneys don't seem very smart to me, I've seen doctors and nurses make dangerous mistakes, the detectives on the case of the murder of a friends daughter can't be bothered to talk to her, and my friend Betty is dying and no one can stop it.

I'm reminded by this card that bad news is part and parcel of life, there won't be any last minute saves today.

"I am ten times undone, while hope, and fear, And grief, and rage and love rise up at once, And with variety of pain distract me." ~ Joseph Addison 1672-1719

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

What a beautiful Star card! The folded peacock plumage cries anticipation, there is so much more to come, it is more than we could bear to have it all revealed at once.

We spend a lot of time looking forward, and very little time realizing what we were looking forward to doesn't quite measure up to our expectations. That's ok too. We probably wouldn't be able to get out of bed if we had foreknowledge that tomorrow is going to be another day just like today and yesterday. Because there are those occasional Star days that always shine, tarnish cannot touch.

"Among so many sad realities we can but ill endure to rob anticipation of its pleasant visions." ~ Henry Giles 1809-1882

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Daily Draw: Aquarian Tarot ~ 2 of Swords

Even after multiple shuffles and cuts I drew the 4 of Swords again today, so I drew again for further clairification. Not surprising that another sword would come up (swords are the suit of discovery) reminding me to slow down and think. Since I was here yesterday I've come up with five potential sources of income...this card tells me not to leap at any of them, but to explore the options before I make a choice. There is certainly no sense in taking a shotgun effect to income, that just eats up time and resources, better to build a plan from my best idea based on exploring the market and doing some tests.

I'm reminded by this card that my best ideas have always been stewed in the brain pan for awhile. Brain farts dissapate in the wind, brain bombs have lasting effects.

Monday, November 19, 2007

Daily Draw: Aquarian Tarot ~ 4 of Swords

Stop and ponder, no rash actions please. I need a new source of income. Last week I closed off a source of 7 years. For an entrepreneur it is difficult to 'take a break'...we are always sniffing the air for fresh sources and I feel the need to rush off and apply for work somewhere. That would not be a good idea at all, entrepreneurs make pretty lousy employees. So I'm making a list and checking it twice, a form of enforced R&R.

I'm reminded by this card that I have many skills, I already have a number of clients and if I bide my time a wee something will pop up.

"The indispensable first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: decide what you want." ~ Ben Stein 1944-

The deck this week is Aquarian Tarot, first published by U.S. Games in 1973. Art by David Palladini. If you are a Stephen King fan you will also recognize his work in The Eyes of the Dragon.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Daily Draw: Universal Fantasy Tarot ~ Love

I wish publishers would go back to naming this card Love rather than Lovers. Lovers is so limiting to such a broad subject. And even within a Lovers relationship there are varying degrees of Love. I love his voice I don't love how he sticks his feet to the side at the dinner table. How many times have I tripped on them? I love my cats, I don't love their harking up on the carpet. I love the book series I'm reading now, I don't love how she reversed the main characters age when she realized it was going to be a popular series.

I'm reminded by this card black and white doesn't exist, most of life is shades of grey. Flat statements like I love and I hate should be used judiciously.

"Dogs love their friends and bite their enemies, quite unlike people, who are incapable of pure love and always have to mix love and hate." ~ Sigmund Freud 1856-1939

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Daily Draw: Universal Fantasy Tarot ~ 9 of Pents

The woman who has everything. But I look at these swans and I think of Queen Elisabeth owning every single swan in her realm and I think of the story of the dog in a manger. He had no use for the manger, didn't want the manger, but didn't want anyone else to have it either. How many things am I hanging on to just because they are mine? If I have everything that I need, as I so often say, then chances are real good that I have more than I need.

I'm reminded by this card of Walden who likened ownership of things to a man with a rope pulling his barn full of goods down the road. They become a weight, a burden, that needs to be released. We are overwhelmed with things we might need...but don't.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Daily Draw: Universal Fantasy Tarot ~ Devil

Do-gooders. Come on, fess up, yes we've all been do-gooders in our day. Trying to fix someone that doesn't want to be fixed, trying to change someone who doesn't need to change, trying to mediate a situation when in truth it is just stirring the pot. Working for the soccer group, volunteering for church work, feverishly working for a political campaign. While at home the house is in disarray (I won't say pigsty, it isn't fair to pigs), wash and ironing pile up, garden needs weeded...in general home and hearth have taken second position behind public good-works.

I'm reminded by this card home is where the heart is and those hearts need good care, first and foremost. Let the devil take hindmost and get his nose out of my life. Being a do-gooder at the expense of the family is a sin of its own.

"Brian: "Who cured you?"Ex-Leper: "Jesus did, sir. I was hopping along, minding my own business, all of a sudden, up he comes, cures me! One minute I'm a leper with a trade, next minute my livelihood's gone. Not so much as a by-your-leave! "You're cured, mate." Bloody do-gooder." ~ Monty Python, Life of Brian

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Daily Draw: Universal Fantasy Tarot ~ 7 of Pentacles

Leave well enough alone. There comes a time when you have to recognize that you've done what you can, to do more would be gilding the lily. The lily doesn't need gilded and knowing when to say I'm finished is important.

I'm reminded by this card perfectionism is a fault which binds as surely as rope.

"When nobody around you seems to measure up, it's time to check yourself on your yardstick." ~ Bill Lemley

Monday, November 12, 2007

Daily Draw: Universal Fantasy Tarot ~ King of Chalices

I'm spending the day with a harsh and abrupt man. As I've worked with him this year I've discovered that his harshness is a direct result of being unable to communicate his feelings. So he blows up, scattering business, family, and friendships to the four winds.

I'm reminded by this card to be ever aware of his feelings and to be proactive rather than reactive. It saves a whole lot of pain and troubles. A proactive person pilots the ship rather than flows where the current takes them.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Daily Draw: Universal Fantasy Tarot ~ 8 of Pentacles

Ever complete a project that so surprised you, you had trouble believing it came from your brains and hands? Oh how I wish I could draw on that field of inspiration and determination all the time. I look at other people my age and I see what they have accomplished and I wonder what makes us so different. Is it grooming from birth? Is it education? What sparks their brain and talent and creativity to be so different from mine?

I'm reminded by this card that having done it before I can do it again. Reach...

"Perhaps the most valuable result of all education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do, when it ought to be done, whether you like it or not; it is the first lesson that ought to be learned; and however early a man's training begins, it is probably the last lesson that he learns thoroughly." ~ Thomas H. Huxley 1825 - 1895

The deck this week is Universal Fantasy Tarot whose incredible artwork is by Paolo Martinello. Published 2006 by Lo Scarabeo

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Daily Draw: Tarot of White Cats ~ Judgment

There is old wisdom that cats have 9 lives. I think people do also. I've had several hair-breadth escapes or wake-up calls, my husband even more so. He was a chopper crew chief in 'Nam and was shot down six times. What's chances of walking away from that? But are we ever really ready to face judgment? I think in our hearts most of us think we will never die, that we will always have one more chance to 'get it right'.

I'm reminded by this card that we don't know when we'll be called but called we will be. I should plan as though I will live forever but live like today will be my last.

"Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending." ~ Carl Bard 1907-1978

Friday, November 9, 2007

Daily Draw: Tarot of White Cats ~ Knave of Pents

"Hey, I've got a great idea"...the Pents Knave in a nutshell. How many of our grand ideas turn to dust and how many become full fledged? We say "I wish I'd thought of that", and "Why didn't I think of that". Tube lipstick, folding scissors, sleeping bags, zip-lock baggies, and everyone's favorite, post-it notes. Some arise from a need and some like post-it notes and chocolate chip cookies were pure accidents. And isn't it funny how the collective conscience works. We do think of a good idea, or start looking for something and within a year or two it is everywhere. That spooks me but I've observed it enough times I know it happens.

I'm reminded by this card genius without action will always be a Knave, never moving to Knight.

"In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts; they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson 1803-1882

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Daily Draw: Tarot of White Cats ~ 6 of Swords

Looks like a change of scenery is due. It is hard to pull up roots and move. We'll probably move to our farm property in a few years. It is beautiful, near a charming little town, I have nieces and nephews there, all points to the plus. But I'll have to leave this home which we've loved and hated in equal portions. This is also a lovely place to live; small town full of friendly people, the businesses all know who we are, if you want to sit on a bench downtown you can talk to people you know all day long. The view is glorious, it's close to big city shopping if we really need something, and I'd have to leave clients I really enjoy working for. I can understand in a small portion days of old when families stayed on the same land for generations. I have a friend in Austria whose family has owned and lived in the same house for 400 years. Hard to believe in this 'new frontier' here in the Pacific NW where nothing is old but the rocks and dirt.

I'm reminded by this card that life is full of changes, either unexpected or planned. To take note of what I have today and appreciate it, mark it in my mind, to live life...not drift through the days in oblivion.

"The true art of memory is the art of attention." ~ Samuel Johnson 1709-1784

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Daily Draw: Tarot of White Cats ~ Lovers

Blind dates, love at first sight, chance and choice. Just how does our brain work in tandem with our heart that allows us to make the one right choice in a life partner? I know women who seem to go out of their way to make poor choices again and again. Against all odds they just seem to draw the worst sort of match to themselves. And how did I get so lucky? At 17? To draw the one man who with all his oppositeness is an incredible match...nearly 38 years later I'm still overwhelmed at how lucky I am.

I'm reminded by this card of some of the 'other' choices I had in the garden of love and I shudder at the thought. And that my Rob still looks 25 to me.

"One of the good things that come of a true marriage is, that there is one face on which changes come without your seeing them; or rather there is one face which you can still see the same, through all the shadows which years have gathered upon it." ~ George MacDonald 1824-1905

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Daily Draw: Tarot of White Cats ~ 3 of Cups

Joint projects, well done. I've been working on this post off and on since around a quarter to five this morning, and I could have used some joint help from someone at Blogger. Each effort resulted in a complete mess. With a little help I would have been done in minutes as usual.

I drug one of our big pumpkins down to my goats a little while ago and they quickly proved my point of joint work makes quick work.

I'm reminded by this card how much I appreciate the companionship of my husband as we tackle difficult projects together. We get finished quicker and always have fun in the process.

"Coming together is a beginning, keeping together is progress, working together is success." ~ Henry Ford 1863-1947

Monday, November 5, 2007

Daily Draw: White Cat Tarot ~ 4 of Wands

I watched someone write housewife as their occupation the other day, I was gobstopped, didn't know anyone would use that term now. There was a day long ago when there were no labor saving devices that a woman was married to her house, but there is no reason for it today. Home maker is a much nicer occupation, whoever chooses to makes the home and hearth a welcoming place in which to return. Speaking from my own experience, particularly this time of year, it is lovely to come into the driveway and see the house lit, to come inside and find it warm, and something cooking putting delicious smells wafting through the air. The homemaker gets short shrift from the world some days but done well and with heart it is the most important job in the world. We all need a safe nest after being away.

I'm reminded by this card that a house and a home are not the same thing.

"The home is the center and circumference, the start and the finish, of most of our lives." ~ Charlotte Perkins Gilman 1860-1935

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Daily Draw: Tarot of White Cats ~ 6 of Wands

I'm triumphant when I remember something. My mind is so bright and quick about learning things but it has a blank spot, particularly with numbers. I cannot look up a number in the phone book, turn around and dial it (ah, dial phones, that dates me). I have to look at it 3 times while dialing...that's most ridiculous. I worked as an account for several years, handling millions in receivables, yet to this day I have to stop and think which is credit and which is debit. I do remember which is the right and left hands...I've seen lots of adults have to stop and look at their hands in order to know which is which. My small triumph this week was remembering where we put the large bag of cat food that wouldn't fit in the regular cupboard. My husband even clapped me on the back and said congratulations. So as long as I still have these small memory triumphs I will not pull the pin and say I have Alzheimer's. I told my husband when I was in my 30's to remind me when I was old and couldn't remember anything, that I couldn't remember anything when I was young either.

In the last 5 years of my Grandma Ruth's life she refused to go to family reunions because she was afraid she couldn't remember names. I reminded by this card to keep working my brain and remember my mental triumphs.

"No amount of time can erase the memory of a good cat, and no amount of masking tape can ever totally remove his fur from your couch." ~ Leo F. Buscaglia 1924-1998

The deck this week is Tarot of White Cats from Lo Scarabeo, art by Severino Baraldi. I have 2 Siamese cats and 1 white one with blue eyes who are the delight of my days. I was stunned when I came back with my cuppa and found Conway ready to help with the reading...he Never gets on the table, honest!

Saturday, November 3, 2007

Daily Draw: Tarot of the Dead ~ 2 of Coffins

A recent conversation has made me wonder what constitutes a real friendship. I have lots of acquaintances but few close friends. I don't let people in very easily, I don't have a lot of free time, and the free time I do have is very irregular. Makes it difficult to plan anything ahead of time. I've found that spontaneity doesn't go down very well with others. It is a conundrum I don't know how to fix.

I'm reminded by this card to make the effort, friends are an important part of a full life.

"Go through your phone book, call people and ask them to drive you to the airport. The ones who will drive you are your true friends. The rest are just acquaintances." ~ Jay Leno 1950 -

Friday, November 2, 2007

Daily Draw: Tarot of the Dead ~ Chariot

I've not seen whale tails on a Chariot before. Whale symbology in many faiths represents great change to an individual, usually brought about by circumstances as opposed to self-willed. The Chariot shows a willingness or/and ability to shape that change to our benefit. An example would be someone who lost their good employment (The Tower) 3 years ago and is still unemployed and crying about the old 'good' job. Another person in the same circumstances would choose to pull up their socks, start at the bottom and by now is in a better position than before. Both have drawn Chariot cards, one would be run over by it, one would be driving it to victory.

I'm reminded by this card there is always a way up and out...but I need to actively seek it and make good advantage of any tools that come my way. Tools are put in front of me for a reason, to ignore them because it isn't the tool I think I need is missing the point.

"Many people think of security instead of opportunity. They are more afraid of life than death." ~ James Francis Byrnes 1879-1972

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Daily Draw: Tarot of the Dead ~ 4 of Pistols

Today is November 1, Dia de los Muertos, the theme of this deck and a day of celebration of life and reflection on and offerings to the dead. The 4 of Pistols (or Swords) shows this clearly, indicating a definite time of rest and reflection, a day for reviewing who and what have been of importance and influence.

Mrs. Ollie E. Camp...my first and second grade teacher. She taught me to read, how to play dominoes, how to tie my shoes, that a penny sucker was excellent medicine for a hacking cough, and was singularly unsuccessful in training me not to sit on my folded up legs. Mrs. Alice Bingham...my typing/journalism/bookkeeping teacher all four years of high school. Most of the income I've produced in my adult life have been a direct result of her classes. Mrs. Davis...my fourth grade teacher who introduced me to art and creativity, the thing that centers my being when all else goes pear-shaped. My first two bosses in the real world, Frankie and Selma. They took the time to teach me about customer service and public manners, and going the extra mile. And the Facets ladies who keep me humble, keep me going, and bring so much joy.

I'm reminded by this card that I am a sum total of all the people I've met and all the experiences I've had, both good and bad.

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity.... It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow." ~ Melodie Beattie

Welcome Guests!

Why Tarot, you ask?

Tarot opened previously closed doors to my own heart with it's merciless quest for the truth, nothing but the truth. They flay the soul and make me say thank you afterward.Each hour spent with my cards is a new lesson to be learned. Viva la Journey.